


Ties That Bind

by pinn



Category: The OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-24
Updated: 2010-01-24
Packaged: 2017-10-06 15:31:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinn/pseuds/pinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seth doesn't get home from work until ten, and the panic is almost gagging him by the time he finds Ryan on the patio, sitting with his feet in the pool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties That Bind

Seth doesn't get home from work until ten, and the panic is almost gagging him by the time he finds Ryan on the patio, sitting with his feet in the pool.

Seth steps onto the patio, closing the door behind him, and wonders how much longer he's going to come home afraid, afraid of Ryan leaving, afraid that his dad's going to wind up in the same rehab as his mom, afraid that Julie will have called to tell them that Marissa has finally shattered.

Ryan looks up from the water and nods. "Hey, how was work?"

"Enh, it was all right. Some douche tried to talk to me about Fantastic Four and just wouldn't shut up. Had to kick him out but that was cool." Seth kicks his flip flops off and sits down next to Ryan. He drops his feet into the pool, the water's still warm from the sun but it feels so good that Seth isn't about to complain. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing." Ryan doesn't speak again and Seth has no reply to that so they sit silently on the edge of the pool for what feels like forever. Seth's watch says it's only been five minutes but he's sure he can believe that.

It's been like this every night since Trey died and Marissa got sent upstate to a nice, private hospital. Seth comes home from working the job his father forced him to get, hoping that Ryan's still at the house. Sometimes they play videogames, some nights Seth goes out with Summer and feels guilty the whole time. Most nights, though, they just sit and don't say anything.

The pool light's on and Seth moves his legs back and forth in the water, watching the patterns and trying to find something in them. Next to him, Ryan exhales and drops his head backwards, staring up at the night sky.

"My dad-" he starts and then stops. "My dad used to take Trey and me camping, back when we lived in Fresno."

"Really? Was it fun?"

Ryan nods quickly. "Yeah. I mean, I was kinda young but I remember running around with Trey, screaming and laughing. I remember staring up at the stars and trying to figure out what they were and how they worked. After my dad got sent to jail, my mom tried to take us camping once but it was a disaster."

"When we lived in Berkeley, my dad and I used to sleep out in the back yard," Seth says. "On a good night, we could see the house two doors down."

Ryan laughs quietly next to him and Seth feels some of the weight on his shoulders lift. It's been like this all summer, trying to find things that will make Ryan laugh a little, and get the frown on his face disappear. Some nights Seth is so tired from trying that he can't keep his eyes open.

They're silent again and Seth's stomach is just beginning to remind him that he didn't get a dinner break when Ryan speaks again. "Do you ever think that if there weren't people in your life that knew you, that were related to you, you might float off?"

Seth's not sure how to respond to that so he just looks at Ryan and quirks his eyebrow.

"I don't know where my mom is, she could be dead. My dad's in prison. Trey is dead. It's like they were all strings keeping me steady, reminding me of who I am, and slowly they're getting cut. The only family I have left is you guys and that's only till I turn eighteen."

Up until this moment, Seth's never thought about that. He thinks about what it would be like if there was no one who knew that he wanted to be the cookie monster when he was four, how he would handle it if the two people he's known since the day he was born were gone. It makes him sad, and he knows he couldn't handle it. Seth would float off just like Ryan described. Seth thinks about all that and how untethered Ryan is now.

All summer long Seth's been searching for ways to make Ryan feel better but he's picking up that there's no grand gesture he can make for Ryan, there's no magic word he can say to make everything better. That's not going to stop him from trying though. Seth lies down on the deck and gets comfortable before he says, "Ryan, you forgot one thing."

Ryan turns sideways and looks back at him. "What?"

"The Cohens use rope, not string."

Ryan smiles, it's a real smile this time, and Seth feels like they've just turned a corner, like he can come home from work tomorrow night and not have to check obsessively for Ryan before allowing himself to eat or call Summer.

"I did forget about that," Ryan admits. He lies down next to Seth and they lie there for as long as their backs can take it, feet moving slowly in the pool, making waves that go on and on.


End file.
